Thursday, March 20, 2014

Cell Phone Radiation Label Bill Passes Maine Legislature Before Dying

The Maine House and Senate passed
"The Wireless Information Act," a cell phone radiation label
requirement, and then killed it prior to enactment due to cellular
industry lobbyists.

On March 11, 2014, the Maine House House of Representatives passed an amended version of "The
Wireless Information Act" on a vote of 83 to 56. The bill, LD 1013, requires that any
manufacturer's information relating to radio-frequency exposure must be
plainly visible on the outside of the cell phone's product packaging or
the packaging must contain a label with the following warning for all
cell phones sold in the state that have manufacturer's safety warnings:

"RF EXPOSURE: To find information relating to radio-frequency exposure, refer to information supplied by the manufacturer"
and language directing consumers to the page or pages of the owner's
manual or other insert or location where the radio-frequency exposure
guidelines or instructions or general information may be found."

The
amended bill specifies that it applies only to cell phones sold at
retail in the state, and that the law would take effect only after four
other states, in addition to Maine, have adopted legislation requiring
labeling of cell phones or cell phone packaging relating to
radio-frequency exposure.

Rep. Andrea Boland sponsored the bill.

Prior
to the vote, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig publicly announced
at a lecture at the University of Southern Maine that he would help
defend the law if the industry sued and the State of Maine did not want
to defend it.

On March 18, the Maine Senate passed the amended
bill on a 21-14 vote.

Before a bill goes to the Governor for approval
in Maine, it is returned to the originating body for enactment, usually a
routine matter. However, on March 20, the bill died in the Maine House
of Representatives as the House failed to enact it on a 77-60 vote.
Cell phone industry lobbyists killed the bill by co-opting the
Democratic House leadership to switch their votes from approval to
disapproval.

Several other states, including California, Hawaii,
Oregon, and Pennsylvania, have tried to adopt cell phone warning label
laws but have been blocked by intense lobbying by the cell phone
industry. The industry does not want consumers to read the microwave
radiation safety warnings that cell phone manufacturers bury in cell
phone user manuals, nor does it want cell phone users to take simple
precautions to reduce their risk of harm. The industry has argued
before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that consumers will panic
if they are informed about the risks from exposure to cell phone
radiation that have been reported in the scientific literature.

Why
does the cellular industry continue to hide from the public the RF
safety information contained in the cell phone user manuals? Isn't this
short-sighted from the perspective of product liability? Why isn't this
industry concerned about public safety?

The wording of the bill and the amendment appear below.

LD 1013 (HP 711)

‘An Act To Create the Wireless Information Act’

‘Sec. 1. 22 MRSA c. 261-B is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 261-B

THE WIRELESS INFORMATION ACT

§ 1537. Short title

This chapter may be known and cited as "the Wireless Information Act."

§ 1538. Labels for cellular telephones

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A. "Cellular telephone" means a device used to access a wireless telephone service.

2. Prominence of instructions. If a cellular telephone manufacturer includes guidelines or instructions or general information relating to radio-frequency exposure in any literature distributed or made available to consumers in connection with its products, the cellular telephone manufacturer shall ensure that:

A. The full language of the radio-frequency exposure guidelines or instructions or general information is plainly visible on the outside of the product packaging; or

B. A label is plainly visible on the outside of the product packaging alerting consumers to the radio-frequency exposure guidelines or instructions or general information. The body of the notice must be in letters not less than 1/16 inch in height. The initial words "RF EXPOSURE" must appear in capital letters and in bold type at least 1/8 inch in height, followed by: "To find information relating to radio-frequency exposure, refer to information supplied by the manufacturer" and language directing consumers to the page or pages of the owner's manual or other insert or location where the radio-frequency exposure guidelines or instructions or general information may be found.

3. Violation. A violation of this chapter is a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.’

SUMMARY

This amendment replaces the bill. It requires that any notification related to radio-frequency exposure supplied by a cellular telephone manufacturer must have the language of the notification plainly visible on the outside of the product packaging or a label, plainly visible on the outside of the product packaging, directing the consumer where to find the information. A violation of this provision is a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.

AMENDMENT

Amend the amendment in section 1 in §1538 by inserting after subsection 2 the following:

‘3. Application. This section applies only to cellular telephones sold at retail in this State.’

Amend the amendment in section 1 in §1538 by renumbering the subsections to read consecutively.

Amend the amendment by inserting after section 1 the following:

‘Sec. 2. Contingent effective date; repeal.

1. Effective date. The chair of the Public Utilities Commission shall monitor legislative activities in other states and certify to the Secretary of State and the Revisor of Statutes when 4 states, in addition to Maine, have adopted legislation requiring labeling of cellular telephones or cellular telephone packaging relating to radio-frequency exposure. The chair shall notify the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters when certification is made. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, chapter 261-B takes effect 30 days after the date of the chair's certification.

2. Repeal. If no certification has been made by the chair of the Public Utilities Commission under subsection 1 before January 1, 2024, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, chapter 261-B is repealed on that date.’

SUMMARY

This amendment provides that the requirements governing the labeling of cellular telephones or cellular telephone packaging relating to radio-frequency exposure applies only to cellular telephones sold at retail in Maine. This amendment also requires that before this legislation takes effect, 4 other states must adopt legislation requiring labeling of cellular telephones or cellular telephone packaging relating to radio-frequency exposure.